Shaykitteh's World of Books

Ensign Andrew Dahl, recently assigned to the Universal Union's flagship Intrepid, is not entirely sure what is wrong with the ship. Traveling through space, in a far away galaxy, the Intrepid is a choice assignment with the change to explore and discover new civilizations. But the away missions rack up a body count that cannot be explained easily, especially when it seems that the newest ensigns are always the ones who die... Especially if certain senior officers are also on the away missions.

As a long time Star Trek fan, I immediately saw the references to the show, even ignoring the obvious clue in the title of the story. The unknown and unnamed ensign is almost always the sacrifice when there needs to be a dramatic death, especially in The Original Series. Imagine being a crew-member of The Starship Enterprise, not knowing that you were also on a television show. If the Enterprise was actually real, and the circumstances of the aired shows actually happened in real life, it would be a confusing and scary place to be... especially as a new ensign.

Welcome to Redshirts, where the people are real and the "Narrative" takes hold and inserts the dramatic pauses, injuries, and explosions. One unlucky lieutenant is almost always injured, something on the bridge almost always explodes, and the science staff (or engineering, or medical) have a short time span to solve impossible emergencies. As Dahl discovers that life isn't really as it appears, and that sometimes people die because of the "Narrative", he is determined to discover what is happening and how is can be stopped - hopefully before he and his friends become sacrifices to drama.

There are parts of the book that made me laugh hysterically, and parts that made me roll my eyes - in a good way -  leaving an overall impression of an enjoyable story. Playing off the stereotypes and humor from a popular science fiction TV show and still making the story your own is almost impossible, but Scalzi manages to pull it off with this book that breaks the fourth wall continuously. The end dragged a little for me, however. I understand why Scalzi would have wanted to put the codas in, but I didn't really feel that they were necessary.

While I'm not sure that I would read this book again, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates tongue-in-cheek humor. The only downfall of this book is that you really do need to be a Trekkie to get the most out of it!

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